Roster watch: Deuce Vaughn did everything he could to make things tough on the Dallas Cowboys

ARLINGTON — The first feature I wrote as a Dallas Cowboys beat reporter was last year about running back Deuce Vaughn. He wears his disadvantage on his sleeve. It doesn’t take an expert to know that a smaller stature might not be the best in a battlefield known as the gridiron.

But that didn’t stop Vaughn from excelling at Kansas State, where he racked up multiple conference accolades and consensus All-American status his final season. There had to be a reason why Vaughn, listed at 5-foot-6, could defy the odds.

It turns out he had one major advantage — one that can’t be located on his sleeve.

“He does an unbelievable job seeing pictures, so he has a good idea of what his surroundings were,” Kansas State running backs coach Brian Anderson told me last year. “He knows if it’s a one high, two high. He understands chasers. He understands all those things, so he can make full speed decisions because of the things he sees on the field pre-snap.”

Vaughn’s sixth sense, in addition to his elusiveness, is why he’s on the precipice of making the Dallas Cowboys for the second-straight season. He doesn’t need a mental camera to see the reality of the next day or so, however.

The Cowboys have to trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday afternoon. That means they’ll say goodbye to 37 players. Heading into the preseason, Vaughn looked like he could potentially be one of those players who would ultimately be waived. He struggled to get on the field as a rookie and he dealt with a soft-tissue hamstring injury during training camp — a type of injury he said he hasn’t dealt with often.

Vaughn made up for lost time, however. He finished the preseason with 14 carries for 87 yards — an average of over six yards per carry. He was the fourth-highest ranked preseason rusher, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades.

Vaughn also showed something unique in Cowboys backfield that figures to look more like a committee than a one-horse stable. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Vaughn “gadget juice” in “non-gadget times,” in reference to his unique elusiveness.

As for his potential place on the roster, Jones was pretty clear on that, too.

“He obviously has some very special talent and you have to find a place for that … he’s sitting right there [on the roster fringe].”

In regard to potentially keeping Vaughn or waiving him, Jones said this about the decision: “He’s going to be interesting for us.”

The Cowboys have two running back spots already secure. Former top-10 pick Ezekiel Elliott returned this off-season after a year in New England. He may not be the Elliott of old, averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per carry with the Patriots last year, but the Cowboys thought high enough of him to not play him the entire preseason. Former undrafted free agent Rico Dowdle averaged four yards per carry last season. The Cowboys didn’t need to see much of him either.

That meant the likely third and final running back spot would come down to veteran Royce Freeman, Malik Davis and Vaughn.

Freeman, lauded for his special teams work this training camp, had a good preseason, as well, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Davis had the most carries among the three but the lowest yards per carry average, finishing the preseason with an average of 3.3 yards per attempt.

Vaughn, surely, understood there would be competition for a roster spot heading into this season. That likely didn’t change his mentality heading into the preseason, however.

“For myself, it was about just coming in here and proving myself all over again,” Vaughn said after the preseason finale. “Trying to get 1% better every single day throughout camp and throughout these times and just play my brand of football. I just try to put great things on tape every single day.

“I’ve always been a guy that, whatever is asked of me throughout a program or an organization, I’m going to go do. I’m going to put my head down and attack it with hard work. Whether that be in returns, whether that be in the backfield, whether that be at receiver — whatever I have to do to give myself an opportunity.”

Versatility may be the key to getting Vaughn on the 53-man roster. He worked out this off-season at receiver, which was something the coaching staff said was chosen to help give Vaughn a chance at more opportunities with the ball in the hand. That didn’t translate much to the preseason, but the Cowboys showed a willingness to explore it. Vaughn has also practiced as a kick and punt returner, which could be a valuable asset with the new kickoff rules.

Vaughn’s immediate future is now out of his hands, but it’s not hard to picture a reality with him on the roster. As Jones alluded to: Vaughn put himself in that position. And now he waits.

“I feel like I’ve done everything I can do,” Vaughn said, “as far as the hard work and preparation and just doing everything I can to put my best foot forward. Now, just put it in God’s hands and at this point I’ll take a few days and be with my family and be thankful.”